Pecherskyi District

Pecherskyi District is an urban district of Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. It lies within the eponymous historical neighborhood, while also including some other historical areas. The Pechersk neighborhood is located on the hills adjoining the right bank of the Dnieper. These two geographical entities are often confused with each other. The Pecherskyi District can be considered to be the very heart of Ukraine. History Pechersk is one of the most important cultural areas of Kyiv, the location of the legendary Kyiv Pechersk Lavra (Kyiv Monastery of the Caves), from which it received its name (pechera is the Ukrainian for "cave"). The settlement near the Lavra formed at some point in the 12th century. It was reformed out of the historical Berestiv royal estate (Kniazhe selo) that was adjacent to the Kyiv Golden Gates (Zoloti Vorota). Beresta is a local name of the bark of a birch tree which at that time was utilized in making of shoes, as well as used as a writing medium. The settlement was renamed the town of Pechersk in the 16th-17th centuries. From the 18th century to the mid-20th century Pechersk as a settlement became the administrative center of the city of Kyiv when the Old Kyiv fortress was erected, which served as a major military stronghold in the Russian Empire and later the Soviet Union. Because of this, new neighborhoods and areas were added to its direct administration. When in the 1840s, the new Kyiv fortress was built, Pechersk incorporated the settlement of Vasylkivska Rohatka (Vasylkiv's Fork) that was founded in 1706. Vasylkiv's Fork was located in the vicinity of Citadel Street where Vasylkiv's Gates once stood (today's address at 3 Citadel Street). In January 1918, the neighborhood was the center of the Arsenal Factory Uprising. The uprising was quelled and this led to the defeat of the Ukrainian National Forces and the surrendering of the city of Kyiv to the Russian Soviet forces, which were led by Colonel Mikhail Muraviov. The rebellion gave the name to one of the streets in the neighborhood during the Soviet times to give the impression of support for the Bolshevik regime.